Goodbye Stranger, Hello Brave New World
by Kimisha
Summary: Set in the season 8 finale episode, Cas returns the angel tablet to Sam and Dean, only to find out that the tablet can close the gates of heaven effectively locking away all angels. While Cas is happy with this solution, the idea of losing the angel again is not sitting well with Dean. * One Shot! Destiel!*


Cas sat on the edge of Dean's motel room bed, hands wringing nervously together.

Dean was pacing the room furiously, just simply waiting.

The sound of Sam's cell phone ringing through the room stopped them all in their tracks and they simply stared at the phone resting on the table. Sam risked a glance over to Dean before swiping for the phone and answering.

"We'll be right there, thanks Kevin."

Not much of a conversation, which only meant one thing, Kevin had translated the tablet.

The three men headed out of the motel room, jacket's in hand and drove just a few miles to discover what the tablet could potentially have in store for them.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Sam, Dean and Cas returned to the Winchester's motel room a little while later.

"Closing heaven's gates appears to be a lot easier than closing the gates to hell." Sam stated, taking a seat at the table.

"So it would seem." Castiel murmured in agreement, taking a seat at the end of Dean's bed.

"If we do that…that's heaven closed off for good right? That's what Kevin said…Angels cut off from returning to earth, stuck up there for good, any remaining angels…"

Dean paused taking a deep breath and looking over to catch Cas' gaze, before dropping his eyes to the floor.

"…will be pulled back up to heaven and locked away along with the rest, Cas included."

"It has to be done, especially with Naomi now out there, causing trouble. It's the best option." Castiel stated firmly, rising to his feet.

"I agree with Cas" Sam said with a reluctant nod.

Dean gaped between both of them and shook his head furiously, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Have you both lost your minds? I am all for locking away those angel douchebags, I'm not exactly their number one freakin fan…and as for Naomi, I'd love to see her drowning in a pool of her own bloody feathers…but if we do this…we lose Cas and I'm not gonna let that happen…again."

Castiel sucked in a surprised breath, shocked after everything that Dean's hesitation about closing the gates of heaven was in direct relation to Cas…to losing Cas.

"It's for the best Dean; this is something you have to do."

Dean glared at Cas, not taking his eyes off the angel and directed his words to his brother.

"Sam, could you give Cas and I a few minutes alone?"

Sam simply nodded, not wanting to get in the middle and grabbed his jacket, retreating faster than a speeding bullet.

Dean approached Cas with caution, entering his personal space and a determined look spread across his face.

"Look here feathers…we have been through too much together for me to just…sacrifice you…when it comes down to the final showdown. I will NOT do this and have you dragged back up to heaven, to be locked away with your so called family who will no doubt make your life a living hell. That is not your home anymore, your home is with us and I won't lose you again. I need you Cas"

Cas looked up to meet Dean's determined eyes and he seen nothing but love there, unspoken love. It was too blinding and entirely capable of taking Cas' breath away, he didn't know what to do with it.

"Cas please, there has to be another way." Dean begged, tears forming in his eyes.

The angel knew what he had to do, stepping forward he reached out and cupped the side of Dean's face, staring right into the hunter's eyes, blue clashing with green in an almighty show of understanding and love.

"Any option that allows me to stay here with you, I'd gladly choose it Dean." Cas stated with a small heartfelt smile, before disappearing and leaving the air around Dean suddenly cold.

Dean let out a long breath he didn't realise he was even holding and his heart dropped at the empty space where Castiel was stood moments ago. Fighting back tears and thoroughly confused about what this meant for their situation, Dean scrubbed a hand down his face and debated calling out to the angel to come back.

Before he could open his mouth, Sam's head popped around the door and carefully stepped back into the room.

"Safe to come back in?"

"I guess"

"Where's Cas?" Sam asked curiously, heading over to Dean.

"I don't know…"

Dean looked up to his brother with deep concern and turned his pleading on Sam.

"…we're not closing the gates to heaven, I can't lose Cas again…he's my best friend Sammy…I won't do it, that's not where he belongs anymore. They will tear him apart and I'm not gonna let that happen."

"I get that and I don't want to lock Cas away any more than you do But Dean this could solve a lot of problems on earth, can we really sacrifice the whole world for Cas?"

Dean took in Sam's words, his jaw setting in a firm line and meeting with his brother's pleading looks.

"Yes, I know I can."

Sam looked slightly surprised by Dean's apparent easy decision to let the world continue in a heaven-hell based war zone…all for one angel and yet the understanding of it all struck Sam like a bolt of lightning, he realised Dean would not back down on this without a fight. Sam didn't want to fight, so he knew the decision had to be left with Dean and it would be.

"Ok, then we will find another way." Sam concluded with a small encouraging smile and watching as Dean's shoulder's slumped in relief.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Almost a week later and there was no sign of Cas.

The Winchester's had been researching the tablet every waking hour of every waking day and trying to come up with a solution. They stayed in a motel close to Kevin's whereabouts in the hope he could continue to help them in regards to the angel tablet.

Dean was beginning to fear for Cas, sure he usually disappears for weeks on end and sometimes even months, but this was different.

Sam was currently at the library researching and Dean was left in their hollow motel room, staring at his own reflection and noticing a week's worth of bags under his eyes.

A knock on the door startled Dean out of his own thoughts and he sighed, lazily strolling over to the door.

"You forget your key again Sam?" He called out, reaching for the door handle and swinging it open.

Dean stopped dead when he opened the door, simply staring into the blue eyes in front of him.

"Cas?"

"Hello Dean."

Castiel stood on the other side of the door, seemingly the same person he was before, only this time there was a cut along his forehead oozing blood and his clothes with covered in dirt. Dean quickly stepped aside and motioned for Cas to come in.

"Where the hell have you been man? I've been calling for you…I…wait…"

Dean stopped his hurried words in favour of taking in what just happened and he closed the door behind Cas, stepping towards the angel with curiosity.

"…why were you using the door? Why not just fly in?"

Cas looked down at the ground, something was very different and Dean couldn't put his finger on exactly what that was, he had his suspicions but he hoped that he was wrong.

"That's why I'm here…I had one option available to me and I took it."

"Meaning?"

"I'm human Dean."

Cas took a shaky breath, every part of him aching and hurting from the physical drop that came from falling to earth.

"You…why? how? Did you do this because of me? Because of what I said?" Dean asked in concern, noticing Cas trying to keep a firm standing position on clearly wobbly legs.

"I did this for me Dean, I thought about what you said and I realised it was so simple. You were right; heaven is no longer my home and hasn't been for a very long time. My place is here amongst the people, free will…my home is with you Dean…"

Cas' words flowed so easily that it made Dean's heart skip a beat and the former angel took a cautious step into the hunter's personal space.

"…if you'll still have me."

Dean let out a huffed laugh, shaking his head in disbelief and allowing a small, almost sad smile spread across his lips.

"You complete and utter dumbass…come here…"

Dean pulled Cas into a tight hug, feeling the former angel stiffen at the treatment, his arms still hanging loosely by his side and not quite knowing how to react.

"…I'll always have you." Dean muttered against Cas' neck, tightening his arms around Cas.

The feeling of Cas finally giving in was one to treasure for a lifetime, his arms coming up to wrap around Dean for the first time and hearing that sigh of relief leave angelic lips.

"Even though I'm now a useless human being." Cas mumbled against Dean's shoulder.

"Hey now…" Dean said sharply, pushing Cas back and gripping his shoulders, making direct eye contact with Cas.

"…You are not useless; I will teach you everything you need to know about being human."

"But I no longer hold any powers, I'm not a valuable asset to either you or Sam anymore." Cas said sadly, bowing his head in realisation.

Dean reached out, much like Cas had done one week earlier and cupped the side of the former angel's face, bringing his blue eyes back to focus.

"You will always be valuable to me…hell Cas is that why you thought I needed you to stick around? I don't care about any of that…I just needed YOU…not your angel mojo…I just needed my best friend."

Water filled behind Cas' eyes and a few stray tears found their way rolling down his cheeks, only to have Dean reach out and wipe them away with his thumb.

He smiled down at Cas, his own tears threatening to spill over and Cas couldn't help but smile back with affection and awe.

Dean pulled him back for another hug, causing Cas' smile to grow wider and burying his face into the hunter's neck.

"Thank you" Cas mumbled into warm skin, feeling a shiver run up the hunter's spine at his words.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

"Right ok, first things first…we are ditching the clothes." Dean said clapping his hands together and ready to start Cas' lessons in being human.

Cas' eyes widened as Dean motioned to his dirty suit and trenchcoat.

"But I like these clothes."

Dean rolled his eyes dramatically, walking behind Cas and peeling off the trenchcoat.

"I didn't mean permanently but now you're human you can't get away with wearing the same clothes every freakin day, that's just gross and not to mention they're dirty." He said with a grimace, throwing Cas' coat on the floor with a look of disgust.

"I may have landed in some mud when I fell." Cas concluded, looking down at his rotten trenchcoat with a grimace.

"Ok ok, I'll get them dry cleaned or something, just lose the suit…you really should take a shower…you do know how to shower yes?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow.

This time it was Cas' turn to roll his eyes and glare at Dean.

"I'm not a complete idiot Dean; of course I know how to shower."

"Sorry, of course you're not…" Dean mumbled in apology, pushing Cas towards the bathroom door.

"…now get in there and shower, you can wear some of my clothes tonight and we can buy you some of your own tomorrow."

Dean watched as Cas retreated into the bathroom and closed the door, Dean choosing to call out a friendly reminder that Cas had to remove his clothes before showering.

He dug through his duffel bag and pulled out a pair of black shorts, along with an old black t-shirt. Dean smiled triumphantly and tossed the clothes on the bed ready for Cas.

"Dean….Deaaannn…"

The hunter heard Cas' urgent calls and bolted to the bathroom, throwing the door open without hesitation, his mind immediately thinking something was horribly wrong.

The door swung open and Dean was met with a very naked Castiel stood in the middle of the bathroom.

"WOAH…dude…warn a guy would ya?" Dean said with a laugh, holding up his hand and trying to block out parts of Cas he thought he would never see.

Cas stood un-ashamedly in the bathroom, not bothering to cover himself up and tipped his head curiously on the side at Dean's behaviour.

"I cannot get the shower to work."

Dean rolled his eyes, trying to reach past Cas who clearly refused to move in the small space and he leant across Cas, waves of heat coming from the now human's body and hitting Dean like a blast of sun on a summer's day.

"Here…you just turn this and pull on this here…" Dean explained terribly and twisted the shower nozzle until the water sprung from the space above him.

The hunter quickly stepped back, keeping his hand up to shield his vision and mumbled to Cas that he was good to go. Cas nodded in thanks and turned to step into the shower. Dean started to retreat from the bathroom, finally lowering his hand but not before he got an unexpected eyeful of Cas' ass when the former angel stepped into the tub and weirdly Dean couldn't help but stare for a moment, before the shower curtain was pulled across and broke his gaze. He blushed furiously and exited the bathroom like a bat out of hell.

Dean sat on the end of his bed, breathing heavily and trying to shake the image of Cas' butt from his head, weirdly to Dean it wasn't an unwelcome image…Cas actually had a pretty nice butt.

The bathroom door opened merely ten minutes later and Cas stepped out, holding a towel around his hips and Dean was thankful the angel had the decency to cover himself up this time.

Cas' hair was wet but ruffled, sticking up in all directions and Dean couldn't help but laugh at that, he found his eyes wandering, following droplets of water as they ran down Cas' bare chest, over amazing sharply cut hipbones and disappearing under the towel.

Dean shifted in his seat, suddenly feeling very hot and very confused. The sound of Cas' coughing brought his attention back and bashful eyes met with Cas' clearly curious and confused ones.

"Sorry, ummm here's some of my clothes…they might be a little big but they will do for now." Dean mumbled, pushing the shorts and tee into Cas' hand and motioning towards the bathroom.

Cas took the clothes and reluctantly headed back into the bathroom to change.

Dean took a minute to compose himself, waiting for Cas to finish up and wondering what the hell is up with his brain right now, was it screwing with him? He had never looked at another man like that before and while he could appreciate Cas was a good looking guy, Dean never expected this.

The door of the motel room swung open and Sam ushered himself inside, laptop in hand and breaking Dean's thoughts.

"Hey Dean…" He greeted, putting his bag down and the laptop on the table.

"…sorry it's so late, I got caught up and…"

Sam stopped mid-sentence and Dean frowned at his brother, before noticing he was looking over Dean's shoulder.

The older hunter spun around to see Cas stood behind him in HIS clothes and Dean couldn't help but gulp at the sight…he looked so…human.

"Hello Sam." Cas greeted, brushing past Dean and sitting on the end of the older Winchester's bed.

Sam raised an amused eyebrow at Dean in question and he suddenly realised how bad this looked from an outsider's perspective.

"No no…ummm…Sam…Cas is kinda…he's human now." Dean said stumbling over his words with a blush forming across his freckled cheeks.

"What? Cas…you fell? How, when…why?" Sam rambled, rushing over to Cas, curious for answers.

"Just back off him Sam, you can ask questions in the morning…it's late and I'm sure Cas has thousands of years' worth of sleep to catch up on." Dean concluded, stepping in-between Cas and his younger brother.

Sam backed off immediately in understanding and smiled down at Cas.

"Sorry, it's just a shock that's all…we can talk about it in the morning…"

"Thank you" Cas said with a small smile.

"…I guess this means Cas is staying with us?" Sam asked, directing towards Dean.

"Yup, for good this time." Dean concluded with a triumphant smile.

"That's great…so umm…sleeping arrangements…" Sam continued with amusement and watching the smile drop from Dean's face.

"…I am not sharing my bed and since this was your idea…I guess you and Cas are sharing." Sam said with a shit eating grin, patting Dean sympathetically on the shoulder and heading into the bathroom with a loud echoing laugh.

Dean looked over to the two double beds, noticing Cas was already shuffling up the left hand side of Dean's bed and making himself at home.

"Looks like it's you and me buddy." Dean said with a nervous laugh, retreating to the right hand side of the bed.

He watched in amusement as Cas lay on his back stiffly on top of the covers and Dean bit his lip to prevent a laugh from escaping, settling for clearing his throat.

"Ummm dude, you might want to get UNDER the covers?" Dean suggested.

Cas blushed slightly at his stupidity and began to wiggle under the covers instead, Dean couldn't help but smile as he watched Cas right himself.

"Are you getting in Dean?" Cas asked innocently, throwing the covers on the right hand side back so Dean could get under.

This time it was Dean's time to blush for the third time that night and he rolled his eyes before settling into bed, putting a fair distance between himself and Cas.

Sam came back into the room and burst out laughing at how uncomfortable Dean looked in bed with Cas, earning a glare and balled up socks to the head for his outburst. Sam held his hands up in defence and quickly got into his own bed.

The youngest Winchester was out like a light within seconds; Sam's snoring echoing through the room like nails on a chalkboard.

Dean rolled his eyes and risked a glance to his left, only to find Cas laying on his side and staring directly at Dean.

"I know you're new to this sleep thing…but it usually starts by closing your eyes." Dean suggested with a nervous laugh.

Cas simply nodded, continuing to stare at Dean.

"Dude can I help you with something?" Dean snapped, gradually feeling more uncomfortable at Cas' staring.

"I thought human's had a night time ritual before sleep." Cas asked curiously.

"Some do…I guess you kinda did…shower then bed. Just go to sleep man, you're freaking me out." Dean mumbled, shifting uncomfortably.

Cas thought back over the human behaviour he has previously observed and one particular thought wouldn't leave his head.

Without further hesitation, Cas leant towards Dean and placed a long, soft kiss on his temple.

It was so fast that Dean barely registered the shock of the kiss and he simply let it happen, turning in surprise when Cas pulled away.

"Cas what the…"

"Goodnight Dean." Cas finished with a smile, before closing his eyes and letting sleep take him over.

Dean gaped in surprise at what just happened and found himself thankful that Sam was asleep.

His skin still tingled from the soft, chaste kiss and Dean bit his lip in confusion, reaching out to touch that spot on his head. A surge of excitement, promise and maybe even a hint of love surged through his body.

Dean suddenly found himself smiling and not being able to stop, his heart fluttering with delayed reaction.

Without further thought, Dean turned on his side and shuffled closer to Cas in the bed, simply watching the former angel's peaceful, sleeping form.

Everything now feeling as though it was falling into place, this is what Dean wanted, this is where he wanted to be and with that thought he smiled, leaning across the now small gap and placing a kiss on Cas' lips, pulling back with a smile.

"Goodnight Cas."

**OO-OO-OO-OO-OO**

**Ok, just a one shot, ficlet type thing for y'all! **

**I'm setting this in the Season 8 finale and how I would like to see things progress after last night's episode. **

**In short I'm imagining Cas coming back to the Winchester's and giving them the tablet for translation, the rest of the story spins off that idea. **

**I'm hoping for a human!Cas season 9, where he stays with the boys and Dean teaches him about being human. That would be my personal ideal scenario and this would be a pretty cool starting point!**

**This may or may not turn into a long fic in the future…but for now it will be staying as a one shot **

**Please read and review, let me know your thoughts xoxo**


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